Console assemblies in vehicles, including, but not limited to, center console assemblies that are situated between a driver seat and a front passenger seat, are conventionally assembled from injection molded plastic parts. The injection molded plastic parts are assembled together to form a substantially rigid outer structure having one or more hollow compartments that are configured to receive cargo and/or other items. Such center console assemblies have substantially rigid external peripheries that cannot be reconfigured.
Depending upon its size, a relatively large amount of floor space in the vehicle may be consumed by a conventional console assembly. For example, in the case of a center console assembly mounted to a passenger sedan, the floor space between the two front seats may be completely consumed and/or obstructed by the center console assembly. Such a configuration is common in modern vehicles and limits the amount of floor space and volume (i.e., the airspace above the floor space that is occupied by the center console assembly) that would otherwise be available for an occupant to place his or her feet and/or legs in and thus can have a negative impact on occupant comfort. This may be particularly inconvenient in small vehicles that have correspondingly small interiors.
Significantly, the floor space consumed by conventional console assemblies will be consumed regardless of whether the console assembly is loaded with cargo. Thus, in instances where the console assembly is empty, the floor space that would otherwise be usable to a vehicle occupant is sacrificed without benefit.
Past attempts to address this problem have been adequate, but leave room for improvement. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,358,307, issued to Shafer et al. discloses a console that is mounted to a front seat in a vehicle and which moves forward and backwards together with the front seat. In some embodiments, the console includes an adjustable strap that can extend from the console to secure items to the console. While, the seat mounted console of Shafer may provide added floor space for one of the front occupants when one of front seats is moved backwards, this can be quite inconvenient for passengers seated behind that seat and may also be undesirable to the occupant of the repositioned front seat. The adjustable strap will likewise move with the seat and can drag whatever cargo (e.g., briefcase, purse, etc.) along the floor of the vehicle as the seat moves, which may also be inconvenient or undesirable. Furthermore, the strap is only effective to secure items above a certain height.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have a reconfigurable console assembly in a vehicle that provides an occupant with the flexibility to selectively choose between available storage capacity on the one hand, and an expanded area of usable floor space on the other hand. In addition, it is desirable to provide a method for assembling a reconfigurable console assembly. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.